Once again we are sponsors of this year’s UK Barista Championships (UKBC) and the UKBC Newcomer Award. This year we decided to follow some newcomers to the competition.

Meet Jana Slamova

Jana is entering the UKBC competition for the first time. We got in touch with her to find out a little about her and her journey to UKBC.

Jana will be competing with Don Altizo, also from BaxterStorey. Don placed in the top 6 of the 2013 UKBC. After trying several coffees, she has decided to use our Fazendas Bobolink, Natural, the coffee that won her our barista competition last year.

“It really is one of the best I have tried, and I am excited to compete with it because I feel like I know it well.”

Training for the competition is intense as she gets one or two days per week in the BaxterStory Barista Academy in central London.

Jana 26, comes from a diverse creative background. Before moving to London, she worked as a dance and fitness instructor in her home country; Czech republic. So how did she then develop her love for the coffee world?

Getting started in coffee

Amazingly, Jana was not a coffee drinker before moving to London, but now she enjoys her favourite coffee drink; a flat white.

Her first job in the UK was working at Gail’s Artisan Bakery. During her time there she developed her passion for good coffee.

” The first job I had in London was with Gail’s, they were using Union Hand-Roasted Coffee and they provided great training that really inspired me to learn more.”

Jana has only worked as a barista for 2 years but her skills have developed quickly, making her a valuable employee at her current job with BaxterStorey. She enjoys this role because they are passionate about coffee and also have their own barista academy which is unusual in contract catering.

We asked Jana for the advice she would give anyone who wants to become a barista her response was,

“Love coffee. Be willing to learn and if they aren’t teaching you, find a job where they will. Being a great barista takes skill, I didn’t know that when I started….”

Training on the job

In her spare time Jana is still involved with dance, but is really enjoying learning about coffee.

“I am in the BaxterStorey Coffee Specialist program, which is an 18-month development program. At the end of it, I will be a certified “coffee geek” with a Coffee Diploma from the SCAE. This is cool because it is also the same qualification I can achieve back home in the Czech Republic.”

Last year, Jana was asked to compete at UKBC by the Head of the Barista Academy, Tim Sturk but was too scared. This year, she feels a lot more confident which she attributes to Tim who saw great potential in her and was persistent.

“He was impressed by my skills and desire to learn more and to be better. He convinced me to compete.”

Rising star

In November 2013, Jana entered our Barista Competition.

“This was my first taste of a coffee competition and I won it! Initially, I think Tim wanted to enter a few baristas from BaxterStorey but we were only allowed one barista per company. He asked me because my managers were very supportive and keen for me to compete. I still can’t believe I won; someone saw this potential in me that I didn’t see.”